


Oceandust

by orphan_account



Category: Marvel (Comics), Young Avengers
Genre: AND i know kate and her sister are close but i wrote them as not being close bc i felt like it, F/F, Light Swearing, also i know americas mommas are dead canonically but in this fic theyre alive bc i want to be happy, but just so u know, like she says 'i was raped' and thats the gist of it, look at all these useless tags, not that theyre major parts but whatever, so thats why its not in the warning, tadpoles are baby frogs not turtles lol it'll make sense later, the title has nothing to do with the fic its just a really nice song, there's mentions of kate's rape but its not descriptive, those two things are why its rated t but its pretty much a g fic tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-21
Updated: 2015-04-21
Packaged: 2018-03-25 02:29:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3793243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kate and America meet on a swing set.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Oceandust

**Author's Note:**

> if you didnt read the tags then just beware that kate DOES mention her rape but it's not descriptive at all i promise  
> not beta read !!!!!!  
> ALSO the title has nothing to do with the fic because its a song by hands like houses and if you havent heard it you should go listen to it even tho it doesnt apply to the fic bc its super calming :')) the lyrics are sorta sad but like the music itself is really nice lol  
> anyway disclaimer: i dont own america chavez or kate bishop or young avengers or marvel or the two dc characters mentioned lol the only thing that belongs to me is the story itself!!  
> ALSO I JUST REMEMBERED i wrote this to be based in summer time like during a school break

It was dark, and it was cold, and America could feel a piece of gravel in her sneaker. The only star visible in the night sky was the bright North Star, which was slightly disappointing. She’d hoped to at least see the Big Dipper. Maybe if the elementary school didn’t have outdoor lights, she would’ve been able to see more. Oh well.  
The swing she sat on was silent, which was nice. The wind rushed through her curly hair - or, what wasn’t tucked under a beanie - as she glided back and forth on the swing. Lost in thought, she didn’t notice the person swinging next to her until they were even with her in height.  
“Oh,” she said, facing the dark haired stranger, “hello.”  
The stranger was wearing black skinny jeans and a thick purple sweater. Their hair was long and straight, and it flew back with the wind. “Hey,” they said cheerily, “I’m Kate.”  
“America.” She herself was wearing grey leggings, a grey v-neck, and a jean jacket with the American flag on the back. She wore the jacket every day, it was her favourite.  
“I like your jacket,” Kate said with a smile. Her skin was pale, almost sparkling in the moonlight. She was near the ground again, slowing down steadily.  
America allowed herself to also slow down to a near stop, burying her toes in the gravel and using her ankles to push herself lightly back and forth. “Thanks,” she finally replied. “Why are you here? No offense or anything, I’ve just never seen you here. I come here every night.”  
“I just moved to the neighbourhood a couple days ago, and I finally found the school today. I love swings,” Kate replied casually.  
America simply nodded her reply, standing up from the swingset. “I’d love to continue talking, Princess, but I’ve got to be home before 10. See you again?” Kate didn’t reply to that, but America had a feeling this wasn’t the last she would see of the pale girl.  
  
  
The next night, Kate was there again. “What time do you usually get here?” Kate asked as she shrugged off her hoodie, setting it on the ground next to the silver pole of the swing set.  
“Around seven, usually,” America replied, slowing down on the swings to make it easier for the pale girl to catch up.  
“You swing for three hours?” Kate asked, jumping on the swing next to America and pumping her legs.  
America shrugged, “it’s comforting. Gets my mind off shit, or whatever.” Kate hummed in response, and the two girls swung in silence for a while.  
“Who’s the best superhero?” Kate asked, breaking the silence after half an hour.  
“Marvel or DC?” America asked, not missing a beat.  
Kate scoffed, “Marvel, obviously.”  
America fought to hide a smile at that, though it didn’t really work. “Hmm, I’m not sure. There are a lot of good superheroes out there. She-Hulk is pretty cool, though.”  
“Very true,” Kate said thoughtfully, “I’m a Hawkeye fan myself, but I do love the lady heroes.”  
“I can dig Hawkeye. The whole hard of hearing thing is pretty cool. Go inclusion!”  
Kate laughed at that. America thought she had a great laugh.  
  
  
“So,” Kate said the next night. They had once again met at the swing set, and although America originally thought she enjoyed being alone, the company Kate brought was welcome. She didn’t talk too much, she didn’t make it annoying, she just made it less lonely.  
“So,” America echoed.  
“Who’s cooler: Flash or Green Lantern? Hal though. Actually, I guess it doesn’t really matter.”  
America chuckled, “I thought you were a Marvel stan?”  
Kate smiled, eyes crinkling in the corners, “shut up. I can like both.”  
“Never said you couldn’t,” America said as she kicked off from the ground, pumping her legs to gain momentum. “I think Flash is cooler.”  
“What?” Kate asked, joining America in the air. “How can you say that when Hal can do _so much_ more?”  
“While it is true Hal can do more, he’s also weakened by the colour yellow. _Yellow._ Only lame superheroes have a _colour_ as a weakness. Plus, Flash has a healing factor. And he’s really fast and he’s just cool,” America replied.  
Kate hummed, apparently deep in thought, and the conversation ended.  
  
  
After almost two weeks of the girls meeting every night at the swings, Kate said, “how come I don’t know anything about you?”  
“What? Um, I dunno. You’ve never asked, I guess,” America replied.  
“Do you have any siblings?”  
“Nope. What about you, Princess?”  
“Kate sighed, “I’ve got an older sister. We’re polar opposites, it’s kinda annoying.”  
“Is that why you come here every night?”  
Kate paused for a moment, worry on her face, before she cleared her expression and said, “yeah,” and then, “what’s your last name? I’ve known you for ages and I don’t even know that!”  
“It’s been, like, eleven days. But, Chavez.”  
“Bishop,” Kate said with a smile.  
“Oh shit!” America said, “aren’t you, like, rich or something?”  
“That’s unimportant.”  
America scoffed, “alright. My turn to ask the question.”  
“Okay, shoot.”  
America paused for a moment, kicking her legs to help her get higher in the air, “what made you want to come back to the swings?”  
“Well,” Kate said, leaning back and looking at the stars as she continued to swing, “you said, ‘see you again?’ and that was an offer I simply couldn’t turn down.” She looked away from the dark sky to send a wink to America, who laughed.  
  
  
The next night, Kate didn’t show. America worried, though she wouldn’t admit it to herself. “No,” she whispered to herself, “I don’t care. She’s probably with some boy anyway.”  
Nonetheless, she spent her entire night at the swing set (alone) worrying about the pale girl.  
  
  
“Sorry I wasn’t here yesterday,” Kate said as she hopped on the swing beside America, “my dad was super pissed at me for failing my social studies test and he didn’t let me leave.”  
“It’s cool,” America lied, hoping it wasn’t obvious. She watched as Kate pushed off from the ground and easily matched her swinging pattern to America’s.  
“Swinging should be an Olympic sport,” Kate said once she met America’s height.  
America laughed, “you think so?”  
“Oh yeah,” Kate said seriously, “it’s a workout and a half. Great for legs, arms, and tummy. Trust me.”  
“Okay, Princess.”  
  
  
A few days later, America stood next to the swingset, waiting for Kate. When the other girl arrived, she was visibly confused.  
“I don’t want to swing today,” America said, “the stars are really bright and I want to lay on the field and look at them. Wanna join me?”  
Kate smiled and nodded, and the two girls made their way down the hill to the first of two grassy fields at the elementary school. They maybe walked too close together, but it’s not like there was anybody around to prove that.  
America took off her jacket, and Kate took off her hoodie, and the two girls dropped their clothes on the ground before laying on their backs on top of them, looking at the constellations in the sky.  
“If I tell you something, will you promise not to tell anyone else?” Kate asked quietly.  
“Of course, Princess,” America replied in a whisper.  
Kate was silent for a moment, before taking a deep breath and saying, “so, like. I was raped.” America said nothing, but her hand found Kate’s, and she intertwined their fingers, squeezing tightly. “And, afterwards, I would go to the swings near my house to clear my head. Y’know, the wind in your hair and all that jazz. So, now, swings are kind of like my safe space. They’re where I go when I feel panicky, or whatever.” She stopped for a moment and took a shaky breath. America squeezed her hand once again, still looking at the stars.  
“When I went here the first day, it was because I had a really bad flashback. But, I’m glad I did. Not glad I got the flashback, of course, but glad I came here. Because, if I hadn’t come here, I wouldn’t have met you. And, I don’t know how, but you’ve managed to become my best friend. You’re the person I trust most in the world. You’re the only one I’ve ever told about what happened to me. So, like, thank you.”  
A tear rolled down America’s cheek, and she let it fall, so not to attract attention to it. “You’re my best friend, too,” she said lamely, “a pretty great one at that.”  
She finally tore her gaze from the sky, turning to see Kate smiling.

The next day, the two were swinging, and America said, “I like girls.” She didn’t wait for Kate to reply as she continued, “I felt like I should tell you, since you told me your thing yesterday, and this is my biggest secret, so. Yeah. I’m a lesbian.”  
Kate replied almost instantly, “okay. Cool.”  
And that was that.  
  
  
Two days later, Kate said, “pass me your phone.”  
America was confused, but did as she was asked, handing the black device to Kate. The girl quickly typed something, and then pressed the home button on America’s phone and handed it back, before grabbing her own phone and holding it out to America, saying, “add your number!”  
America smiled and accepted Kate’s phone, which had a squishy purple case, and entered her number under the name “America” with two rainbow emoji’s.  
Kate thanked her enthusiastically, before hopping on the swing next to America.  
(When she got home, America was pleased to see that Kate entered herself as “Princess Kate”).  
  
  
The next day, Kate didn’t show up, and America was lonely. She got a text that read, _“cant make it!! rlly sorry :(( my parents r making me go 2 a rich white person dinner im so not excited”_  
To which America replied, _“shit :// good luck dont die !!”_  
_“i’ll try my best </3 see u tmw if i make it thru this dinner tho!!”_  
America smiled at that and decided not to reply, tucking her phone back in her pocket.  
And then she thought about Kate.  
And she thought about how Kate was really pretty, and she acknowledges it, but she wasn’t nasty about it. And how Kate was great to talk to, time flew by when they were together and the three hours that America was allowed out felt more like three minutes. She thought about how, even when they were silent, just swinging and looking at the stars, America enjoyed Kate’s presence. She thought about how cute Kate’s laugh was, and how Kate was the only person in the world she trusted enough to tell about her sexuality (not that she was afraid to come out to her moms, she knew they weren’t going to kick her out or something like that, she just didn’t want them telling all their friends), and how just great Kate was overall.  
“Shit,” she said quietly, “I have a crush.”  
  
  
Three days later, the girls were swinging lazily, barely off the ground, when Kate said, “So, I thought about it.”  
“About what, exactly.”  
“Our conversation about Green Lantern versus Flash.”  
“Jesus,” America said, “that was a decade ago. I can’t believe you remember that!”  
“I remember all our conversations. It’s unimportant, though. What is important is that I thought about what you said, and I think you might be right.”  
America smirked, “of course I’m right, Princess. I’m never wrong.”  
Kate laughed, “shut up.”  
“You just don’t want to admit that I’m always right and also perfect and beautiful,” America replied, pushing her hair over her shoulder.  
“You’re definitely not always right. Remember that time you thought tadpoles were baby turtles?”  
“Shh! That was a confusing time,” America defended with a laugh.  
“Can’t disagree with the ‘perfect and beautiful’ thing, unfortunately. Foiled again!”  
America ignored the way her tummy fluttered at that, instead laughing and turning in the swing to kick Kate lightly.  
“Hey!” Kate said playfully, kicking America back.  
“Oh,” America said with an excited grin, “it’s on!”  
  
  
A week later, Kate and America were swinging silently, when it hit her. “Oh my god,” America said, “we’ve known each other an entire month now!”  
“Really?” Kate asked, “wow. Time flies.”  
“Definitely,” America murmured, and the two once again lapsed into silence. America was at war with herself, one half of her saying she really needed to tell Kate about her dumb crush, because it was unfair for her not to know. The other side, however, reminded her that this was the best friendship she’d ever been in, and admitting her feelings could fuck it all up.  
She sighed, running her fingers through her thick hair.  
“You good?” Kate asked.  
“Yeah,” America replied, “just thinking about stuff.”  
Kate nodded, “me too.” She was silent a few minutes longer before saying, “hey, could I maybe ask you a question? It might be kinda weird, I dunno.”  
“Go ahead, Princess.”  
Kate smiled nervously, “okay. Uh - you don’t have to answer if you don’t want, it’s kinda personal. I just. How did you, like, know that you were a lesbian.”  
“Oh,” America was taken aback. “I, um-”  
“It’s probably too personal,” Kate cut her off, “I’m really sorry. You don’t have to answer.”  
America laughed, “calm down, Princess. It’s okay, you just took me by surprise. I guess I just realized that, like, boys are really gross. But girls are pretty great. and I thought about kissing a boy, and I was like ‘ew, no thanks’, but when I thought about kissing a girl, I was like, ‘that’s okay’, so. Yeah.”  
Kate was quiet another moment, seemingly lost in thought, before she said, “so, what if someone said it was okay about boys and girls?”  
America didn’t let her hope rise. This didn’t mean Kate had a crush on her. This might not even be about Kate. “Well,” she said, “then they would be bisexual.”  
“Hmm,” Kate said, “okay. Thanks, America.”  
“Not a problem.”  
  
  
“America?” Kate said quietly the next day. The two were rather high in the air, swinging back and forth at the same time.  
“‘Sup?”  
Kate took a moment to get her sentence together before saying, “I think I’m bisexual.”  
America fought down the glee rising in her chest. “Okay,” she said, hoping her voice remained neutral.  
“Okay…” Kate repeated in a murmur.  
  
  
Two days later, America got a text from Kate reading, _“hey wanna see a movie or smth im super bored ://”  
__“is there even anything good playing ?? but sure omg”_ America replied.  
_“have u seen antman yet i think its in theaters rn”  
__“omg no i havent yet !! what time :oo”  
_ Kate took a moment to reply, and it was a simple, _“it starts in 1 hr but its opening wknd so its gonna b busy so wanna meet in 15 mins??”  
__“yeah omg i’ll see u there !!”_ America replied before grabbing her car keys and walking to the garage, where her black bug was parked. “I’m going to the movies!” She called to her mothers who were somewhere in the house. She didn’t wait for a reply before she stepped into the garage and walking to her car.  
She drove to the movie theater, and arrived five minutes before she was supposed to, but Kate was also apparently over excited, as she was already in line at the ticket machine.  
“Y’know,” America said, walking to where Kate stood, “we can get tickets and popcorn at the same time if we buy them at concession. Then we don’t have to wait in two lines.”  
Kate gasped and jumped before laughing, “you scared the shit out of me, America! But, that’s a good idea, let’s go.”  
The two girls left the line in front of the ticket machine and instead joined the (shorter) line for concession.  
Because they showed up so early, they managed to get seats pretty close to the middle, which America was proud of. Kate refused to allow America to pay, though, reminding her that she had a ‘terribly rich family, I refuse to let you pay while in my presence,’ which made America laugh (and maybe made her heart flutter, but nobody needed to know that).  
And then they sat, and America couldn’t help but realize that it felt suspiciously like a date, what with Kate inviting her and then not letting her pay. But, she didn’t read too far into that. They’re just friends doing friendly things and being platonic as hell. Super not gay. Just because Kate was bi, didn’t mean she had a crush on America.  
  
  
A few days later, America was slowing down on the swing, getting ready to leave. “I gotta go,” she said sadly, although she knew that Kate knew that was why she was stopping.  
“I know,” Kate replied, slowing down to meet America.  
America stood, beginning to walk towards the hill, before Kate said, “wait.” America stopped, and turned back to face the swing set, where Kate was still sitting. “I have to tell you something,” she said.  
“Go ahead, Princess,” America replied with a small smile.  
“I just,” Kate stopped and sighed, looking down at her lap, “I thought you should know that, like, I like you, or whatever. A lot. I sound like a thirteen year old, I’m sorry. You probably didn’t even want to know that, why would you want to know that? Oh gosh, you should just go. You don’t have to reply. I’m sorry.”  
“Hey, hey. Calm down,” America laughed, “I like you too.”  
Kate looked up so fast, America worried her neck might snap, “really?” She asked excitedly.  
“Totally.”  
“Cool. So, like, can we count that movie as a first date?”  
America smiled, “it kinda felt like it, didn’t it?”  
“That’s the vibe I was going for,” Kate laughed.  
“Wow! Roping me in without my knowledge! Sneaky girl.”  
“Shut up,” Kate said with a large smile.  
America returned the smile, saying, “I really do have to go, my moms will be really pissed off if I don’t get home soon, but I’ll text you, okay?”  
“Yeah! I’ll talk to you later!”  
  
  
When America got home, she already had a new message from Kate.  
_“i totally forgot to ask but like do u wanna go out w me lol”  
__“ur a loser of course i do !!”  
__“im not a loser </3”  
__“sure u rnt”  
__“ur mean”_  
_“goodnight princess”_

**Author's Note:**

> hey fam thanks for reading !!! sorry if it's super ooc lol it's my first amerikate fic  
> i basically was laying in bed and i was like "i REALLY want to go to the park right now but i can't because its 2 in the morning" and then i was like "how cute would it be if you met someone at the swings EVERY DAY" because i used to go to the park every day because i really love swinging and then this happened so basically america and kate are both based on me lol <3 love myself <3  
> im going off on a tangent im sorry  
> shout out to ashton irwin from 5sos for thinking tadpoles are turtles lmao hes fuckin dumb luv u ashton :*  
> there was something important i was going to say here but i fuckin forgot it oh my god  
> OH YEAH i am just a simple canadian kid so anything that doesnt sound like something an american would say is due to that lol


End file.
